Bachelor and Master Theses

Context and Motivation

The transition toward a circular economy has become a strategic priority for the manufacturing industry, aiming to reduce waste, extend product lifecycles, and optimize resource utilization. Within this transition, cables and wiring harnesses—critical components in industrial machines—represent a particularly challenging area. These components are essential for power distribution, signal transmission, and control functions across machinery and automation systems, yet they often have shorter lifespans and limited recyclability compared to other machine elements.

Currently, the majority of cables and harnesses are designed for linear use, with end-of-life treatment involving material loss or downcycling due to complex compositions (metallic conductors, polymers, connectors, and insulation materials). Furthermore, traceability gaps, design limitations, and lack of circular business models hinder the adoption of sustainable recovery, reuse, and recycling strategies.

As industries pursue more sustainable and resilient manufacturing systems, enabling circularity for cables and harnesses requires a combination of technical innovations, supply-chain collaboration, and data-driven lifecycle management. This includes solutions such as design for disassembly, material identification and tracking, remanufacturing, and reverse logistics models. Understanding how these elements can be systematically integrated into industrial contexts is crucial for realizing the full potential of circular manufacturing.

Purpose:
This research aims to enable circularity solutions for cables and harnesses used in industrial machines by identifying key technical, organizational, and systemic enablers that support circular design, use, and recovery. The study will develop a conceptual framework that integrates product design principles, data-driven lifecycle management, and circular business models to promote resource efficiency and sustainability across the value chain.

Main Research Question (RQ):
What are the key enablers and strategies for enabling circularity solutions for cables and harnesses in industrial machines, and how can these be integrated into design, use, and end-of-life stages to promote sustainable and resource-efficient manufacturing?

Research setting and research group 

Thesis work will be performed in the research project of SmartCircle (Smart Circularity Implementation) and Circul8 (Smart Battery Circularity). You will be working with a cable manufacturer, KPRO. You can search the project on MDU webpage for more information. This thesis work will be part of the research group DigiCircle (Digital and Circular Industrial Services). The group is currently leading research projects on battery circularity, digital and circular business models, digital servitization, and circular ecosystems with more than 10 industrial companies, public funded companies, municipalities, and industrial clusters. Your thesis work will be used as a knowledge development as part of the group and will be used in the relevant courses, projects or publications upon completion.